Oberauer, Klaus (University of Potsdam, Germany) - Working memory and mental arithmetic


Project:	Working memory and mental arithmetic
Researchers:	Klaus Oberauer, Reinhold Kliegl, and Ulrich Mayr (University of Oregon)
Duration:	1998-2001
Support:	Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
Description:	Complex mental arithmetic, e.g. when multiple-digit numbers or brackets are involved, requires selective access to particular elements in working memory (e.g., picking out the intermediate result after solving a bracket and apply an operation to it). In a series of experiments we tried to disentangle different functions of working memory involved in this kind of task: Holding several elements in working memory simultaneously with the execution of computations, selective retrieval of individual elements, updating of elements in working memory, and switching from one element in working memory to another. One result of our studies is that the load on working memory (i.e., the number of elements in the memory set) affects processing latency and accuracy only in specific conditions, in particular when a new element from the memory set must be accessed.
Publications:	Oberauer, K., Demmrich, A., Mayr, U., & Kliegl, R. (2001). Dissociating retention and access in working memory: An age-comparative study of mental arithmetic. Memory & Cognition, 29, 18-33.
	Oberauer, K. (2002). Access to information in working memory: Exploring the focus of attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 28, 411-421.

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